Ohio State Football: Nine Items on the Buckeyes' Summer "To-Do" List
Summer is just a few weeks around the corner, and the college football season can't come soon enough, especially for Ohio State fans.
The Buckeyes have had one of the most painful offseasons in recent memory in trying to deal with the scandal involving Jim Tressel with his future possibly on the line.
Unfortunately, they just have to find a way to block the whole thing out and just play football when fall camps start up in August.
But for those next few months, here are nine things Ohio State has to do before the fall camps begin.
1. Find a Temporary Quarterback
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Obviously the thing to watch for in the next few months from the Ohio State camp from a personnel standpoint is who is going to start at QB.
Right now, the frontrunners look like senior Joe Bauserman and blue-chip freshman Braxton Miller, with red-shirt freshman Taylor Graham as a sleeper.
Miller, who received some praise from SI.com, is without question the future of the football program and was strong in his Buckeye debut in the spring scrimmage back in April.
The majority of fans want Miller to start to get his feet wet early on because it can only help in the long run, especially with potential chemistry issues when the "Suspended Five" are eligible to return loom on the horizon.
But it will be up to Tressel and interim coach Luke Fickell to decide who they want to go with to start the season.
2. Prepare for the Meeting with the NCAA Committee on Infractions
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Aug. 13 is the date when Tressel and athletic director Gene Smith will meet with the NCAA Committee on Infractions to address the allegations dating back to April 2010 involving Tressel's withholding of information from not only the NCAA, but his employers at Ohio State.
Tressel's attorney will ironically be a former chairman on the infractions committee in Gene Marsh, who earlier on believed that Tressel's past reputation might help lessen the blow of his punishment.
It seems as if time can't go fast enough when it comes to this story, and Ohio State fans just want the time to go by to find out what the sanctions are going to be.
But having a former chairman of the NCAA infractions committee can only help since he has a thorough knowledge of the rules, and maybe could find loopholes in the letter of the law.
It worked for Louisville back in 1999, so who's to say it would hurt Ohio State 12 years later?
3. Develop Contingency Plan for When Suspensions Are over
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The bigger challenge than finding the necessary replacements for the suspended five to start the season is deciding what to do when those players become eligible again.
The first game of their return will be their toughest of the season, a road trip to Nebraska on Oct. 8 in prime-time.
Chemistry is a funny thing, and even though Ohio State's offense was surprisingly explosive last season, their return is not necessarily a guarantee if OSU goes 5-0 and they play well in those five games.
Conventional wisdom says you continue with the horse you rode in on, but this situation is unlike any in the modern era of college football.
It will be an interesting decision to make, and this might be a summer project for the Buckeye coaching staff.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
4. Get Terrelle Pryor Healthy
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Terrelle Pryor has not strapped on pads since the foot injury he suffered towards the end of the Sugar Bowl win against Arkansas.
Pryor had foot surgery before the spring, which relegated him to the sidelines.
He has been a good mentor so far for Braxton Miller in trying to get him acclimated to the college game, but the key to the next season when Pryor is eligible is how healthy he can be.
Pryor has finished each of the last three seasons with a major lower body injury, so his health has become a concern.
And although he has played tough despite the injuries, Ohio State will need Pryor to be 100 percent when his turn comes up in the middle of the season.
5. Find Another Capable Wide Receiver
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Most Ohio State fans who have paid attention to spring practice reports have to be really concerned about the lack of depth at the position.
With top producer and senior DeVier Posey under suspension, the next two most experienced contributors, Corey Brown and Chris Fields, have a combined 11 catches and one TD.
Brown has had some issues with hand inconsistencies, and Fields did not do much to improve his stock with no catches in the spring scrimmage.
Youngsters T.Y Williams and Verlon Reed played well in the scrimmage and could work themselves into the rotations immediately.
6. Hit the Recruiting Trail
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With the question marks surrounding the immediate future of Jim Tressel and the end of the Brew Crew, one of the more talented recruiting classes in recent OSU history, the class of 2012 is going to be extremely important for Ohio State to work on.
The Buckeyes have seven commits so far, including top-flight prospects RB Brionte Dunn and OT Kyle Kalis.
Thankfully Ohio is loaded with top prospects, but some are hesitant to pull the trigger due to the uncertainty of the program as well as a good amount of attention from out-of-state powers.
But history has shown that getting a super prospects sets all the dominoes in motion for a recruiting class, and that type of player is the kind OSU needs to get to commit this summer, such as DE Adolphus Washington or WR Jaquay Williams.
7. Get Away from the Distractions
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No man in America needs a vacation and time away from a television, newspaper or Twitter more than Jim Tressel.
Although he deserves much of what he's getting from all angles, for his personal sake, he just needs to escape and take a vacation.
The Urban Meyer saga revealed that at least for some, coaching FBS football can take quite a toll on a coach from a physical standpoint.
These men are under more pressure than anyone in the game, and it seems as if the NCAA investigation news has worn the Vest down.
If he hasn't already, he should look to booking himself a getaway just for a few days to recharge the batteries.
8. Prepare, If Necessary, for Life Without Jim Tressel
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Whatever the NCAA decides to do to Ohio State for this recent scandal, expect a large amount of the punishment to be solely on Tressel's shoulders.
Although the school will ultimately have some punishment in general, the evidence has so far shown that Tressel has acted alone and without the knowledge of his bosses in Columbus, a far different offense than if he were to tell Gene Smith and if things went as they have now.
With that in mind, it could be very likely that Tressel is suspended for the rest of the 2011 season, levied a fine of nearly half his coaching salary, and possibly fired by Ohio State.
If that's the case, Ohio State needs to have a plan in mind for life A.T. (after Tressel).
Whether that involves removing the interim tag from Luke Fickell or having a list of candidates in mind, they need to have a plan in mind just in case heavy sanctions come down.
9. Find Your Future in the New Recruiting Class
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A top-five recruiting class can certainly pay dividends right away as the Brew Crew of 2008 proved right from the get-go.
With a class featuring consensus five-star prospects Curtis Grant, Braxton Miller and Doran Grant, and with the holes on both sides of the ball that need to be filled, don't be surprised to see a lot of true freshmen on the field this season.
While Miller and Curtis Grant are the two most likely to get on the field, keep an eye on sleepers in DT Joel Hale and LB Ryan Shazier who enrolled early and showed plenty of promise in the spring.
Having good young depth is something that can only help your team, both in the present and future.
But it will be up to the coaches this summer to decide which youngsters are ready to step into the limelight right away and which ones need time to blossom and grow.
For more college football news and updates, visit The BCS Blitz and follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
